Diving raft



R. BUCK DIVING RAFT Nov. 8, 1932.

Filed Aug. 26, 1931 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 orlw R. BUCK DIVING RAFT Nov. S,1932.

Filed Aug. 26, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Et Zorzeg.

Nov. s, 1932. R. BUCK 1,886,522

DIVING RAFT Filed Aug. 26, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 vai Patented Nov. 8,1932 PATENT OFFICE f RONALDV BUCK, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND DIVING RAFTApplication led August 26, 1931, Serial No.

The object of my invention is to provide for swimming baths and otherbathing places, a diving raft which is capable of providing a means ofsafe-amusement and adding fresh enjoymentl to the activities of divers,nondivers and non-swimmers.

According to my invention I provide a diving raft having a rising upperpart and footholds adapted to assist bathers in climbing to the topthereof, means being provided on the raft to restrict tilting or rotarymovement about a horizontal axis and thereby as'- sist the bathers inclimbing.

The footholds may be arranged in a localized manner or to surround therising upper art. l

p Float means, weighting means, anchoring means or shaping of the lowerpart of the raft may be employed to limit, hinder or prevent tilting ofthe raft.

Handhold means may be provided at the upper part of the raft to assistbathers in the latter part of the climb.

The footholds preferably comprise ledges or projections of relativelysoft material and may also be adapted to serve also as handhold means.

The float means preferably are of a relatively soft nature.

The weighing means are preferably arranged in such a manner that they donot produce loose or abruptly projecting parts.

The raft may be inflated or contain air at atmospheric pressure, or bestuffed with buoyant material.

In the accompanying three sheets of draw- Figure l is a front view,partly in section of a diving raft.

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical section and Figure 4 is afragmentary front view Y drawn to a larger scale and illustrating moreclearly a detail.

Figure 5 is a front elevation showing a second construction.

Figure 6 is a front elevation illustrating a third construction.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary front view, part- 559,355, and in GreatBritain April 1, 1931.

' ing l of a suitable fabric or material, preferably a fibrousfabricwhich may be rendered waterproof by any suitable means.

The casing has substantially the sho-wn shape with a dome-like upperpart and contains an inflatable bladder 2, Figure 3, for example ofindia-rubber. The whole, when inflated as shown, is adapted to float.The casing l may be of any other suitable shape, for example that of ananimal, fish, bird, giant, allegorical figure, and so forth and maycontain more than one inflatable bladder.

The casing 1 has secured to its exterior pieces 3 of fabric, see moreparticularly Figures 3 and 4, for example by stitches 4 and/ or 80 anyother suitable means. Each piece of fabric extends round a padding 5 ofcomparatively soft material, for example rope and is secured round thepadding 5 byv stitches 6 and/or any other suitable means. 85 If desired,the piece 3 may be drawn together at the ends, for example by stitches 7and/or other suitable means to cover the ends of the padding 5.

The pieces 3 are arranged to form one or 90 more'series of footholdsarranged at suitable distances one above the other. The projectionsproduced by the padding 5 are sufficient to assist the bather inclimbing up the casing, but owing to their comparatively soft nature,can not injure the bare feet or other parts of the bather and can nottrap the bather. Furthermore, the footholds which the projections giveare not such as to enable the bather to climb without some care, ex-

ertion and skill and consequently mounting of the ball is rendered moreinteresting and exciting.

A ring 8 of comparatively soft ma-terial, for example rope, may beprovided at the top of the casing to serve as a handheld for those whoclimb and those whohave reached the top. Y

Depending, loose membersv 9, for exampleV hand ropes attached at theupper end only, may also be provided to .assist the bathers incompleting the climb.

An inflated tube l0 for example of rubber or the like, and formedcontinuous or with closed ends, surrounds the casing at the lower partthereof. 'Ihe tube 10 is maintained in its surrounding position by afabric' or other suitably soft covering 11 secured to the casing andpreferably permitting the tube 10 to rise a suitable distance up thecasing when placed in the water. The tube floats entirely or partlyunsubmerged. Its purpose isrrto lend sufficient stability to the wholeagainst tilting or turning on a horizontal axis, to

partially counteractV the effect which the weight of a bather wouldotherwise have thereon when he attempted to climb up the casing.Preferably the stabilizing action is maintained suiiiciently low as topermit a predetermined amount of tilt or rock under the weight of abather or bathersand thereby render the climb more amusing and exciting.The lowermost'part of the casingmay be somewhat flattened, for exampleasfshown, to assist in obtaining stabilityand enabling the diving raftto oat in more shallow water. Preferably Vthe diameterl of the casing islarge forfexample from 5 to 12 feet upwards.

in order to give a good height for diving and make the climbing thereofan achievement.

Instead ofproviding an inflatable tube 10 in the covering 11, thecovering may be filled with buoyant material such as capoc, ground cork,and so forth, or it may be adapted to lill itself with the water Afromthat in which the diving raft floats. One method of adapt-V parativelystiff lmaterial arranged at suitable distances apart. Another suitablemeans consists of spaced plugs of padding which preferably is of anabsorbent nature. .The pad' ding may bemaintained in position byattachment thereof tothe covering or by-disposing it in pockets formedby the aid of suitable cross partitions in the cover. In the exampleillustrated in 'Figures 10 Vand 11,` the casing has bags or buckets 28attached in an annular row to its lower part, and connected togetherexternally by a thick rope ring 29 attached to all of the bags orbuckets 28. I-Ioles 30 are provided in the bags or buckets 28 to allowwater to enter them and act as ballast and thereby impart the .desired`stability to the raft. Thebags or buckets 2,8 are1 preferably of stoutcanvas so as to have flexibility.

The water contained in the covering 11 or bags or buckets 28 constitutesa weight, which,- when the raft is tilted acts at the raised side of theraft toreturn the raft to its 'initial "position or prevent furthertilting under the weight of the bather. a

The covering 11, or `bagsor buckets 28 and'- the water therein, .andalso the padding, Where employed, are of a relatively soft nature andtherefore arel not liable to injure the bathers. If required the crosspartitions may, be arranged in oblique slantingpositions. The covering11 or the-bags orV buckets 28 may be completely filled with absorbentniaterial, for example sponge rubber. Instead of relying on water asballast, the covering 1l pir bags or buckets28 may be filled with san Yi Y It will be observed that inV the construction shown Vin Figures 1 to`4, there are yfour series of projections, which series are spacedirregular distances apart, but it is to be under? stood that there maybe any desired number andv airangementI of series of projections. In theexample shown inFigure 10 thelower part of the casing is providedwithtwo annular projections 81 and 82 which also serve as foot and handholds. The rope ring 29 also serves as a footand hand hold. f

In the constructionA shown in Figure 5,A there are four series ofprojections spaced equal distances apart and a predetermined amount ofstability is obtained by forming the inflated casing 12 with the shownshape of bottom.

In the construction shown in Figure 6 there is only one series `ofprojections which extend completely round the linflated casing 13 andthe top ofthe-casing 13 is slightly` flattened to facilitate standingthereon, whilst a predetermined amount of stability is obtained byshaping the bottom of the' casing as shown.

Figure 7 illustrates another method of obtaining a predetermined amountofstability. Aseries of closed pockets 14, 15, 16 of pro-y gressivelysmaller size are provided, the pocket 14 being secured to the inflatedcasing 17, the pocket 1'5 Vto thepocket 14 `andthe pocket 16 to thepocket 17. The pockets 4are of comparatively soft materialiandare `lledwith suitable ballast 18, for` example lsand or other comparatively,soft orV yielding material. The pockets may be lined with sandproofmaterial andberendered waterproof.

iis

In the method illustrated in Figure 8 a predetermined amount ofstability is obtained by means of bags 19 filled with suitable ballastof comparatively soft or yielding material, secured to the casing 20 andenclosed in apocket 21 of comparatively soft material, the pocket 21being also secured to the casing 20.

In all of the above stabilizing means there is nothing to hurt or injurethe bathers feet or other parts of his body by coming into contacttherewith and in the unlikely event of the raft being turned completelyover due to the combined efforts of many bathers, the stabilizing meansin subsequently descending towards the water cannot strike a bather insuch a manner as to injure him.

In arrangement shown in Figure 9, stability is obtained by means ofropes or tubes composed of a ring 22 having four depending parts 23which converge to a point and having a weight 24: which is retained inposition by the parts 23. The ring 22 is secured to the lower part ofthe inflated casing 25.

Instead of or in addition to providing a weight 2A, the frame may beattached by means of a slack chain 26 to the ground or to a flat, heavyweight 27 which rests on the ground, the weight 27 being sufficientlyheavy as to be unliftable by the bathers. An inverted hollow pyramid offabric, of the same shape as the said frame may be substituted for theframe. In lieu of providing the casing of the raft with an inflatedblad-` der or bladders, it may be retained in its distended state by ahollow frame or foundation of wickerworlr, basketwork and so forth, ormay be stuffed with buoyant material. I however prefer to employ aninflatable bladder or bladders because the raft is thereby renderedreadily portable.

I claim- 1. A diving raft comprising a casing having a rising part, aninflated bladder in the said casing, footholds of soft materialdistributed over the rising part of the casing, hand ropes dependingfrom the casing, water buckets depending from the lower part of thecasing and apertures in the buckets for automatically filling them fromthe water in which the raft floats.

2. A driving raft according to claim 1, wherein the footholds comprisehorizontal ledges consisting of horizontally disposed cores of textilematerial, and tight coverings attached horizontally to the casing andcompletely enclosing the cores.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specication atManchester in the county of Lancaster, England, this 14th day of August,1931.

RONALD BUCK.

